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A Kindred Spirit	By : Demonic_Host Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 6129 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Blanket disclaimer - I do not own any intellectual properties of the Avatar series or its sequel nor do I make any money from this work.

Chapter List
- 5
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A Kindred Spirit
Chapter Six

You gripped at the meticulous sleeve cuffs as Ty Lee led you through the dark metal hallways of the ship. The knots in your stomach tightened into painful coils that you could do nothing about. The seemingly happy girl in front of you didn't seem worried at all by the fact that she was heading outside.

Outside. Like freedom. Outside like sunlight and fresh air. Wind.

These were concepts you had only felt in your dreams for the last six years. You hadn't seen real sunlight since your father was dead. Long Feng had taken you and your mother captive the moment he could. Considering the fact that your mother and in turn you as well had healed his agents multiple times from various wounds it had been a smart choice. His strategic attack leading to the capture had been a stroke of genius. One that you could not appreciate given the state of things.

"Azula isn't that scary you know. Not all the time."

You looked at the expressive teenager in front of you with slightly widened eyes, trying to figure out what she meant. You stopped fidgeting with your sleeves as she turned around and smiled at you. It was almost as though her smile impacted the whole of her body as she bent backwards and forwards all at the same time.

"Azula knows when she can be scary and when she needs to stay collected. Since you've become a very important person now she will play nice. So don't worry so much."

Oddly the fact that she had been leading you out to Azula hadn't really been at the front of your worries. You had been so focused on the outside concept that you hadn't thought about the why she was leading you outside.

"I don't know how not to," you admitted to her instead. "Everything is new to me. I've wasn't allowed to do anything for years."

Her expression didn't even waver as she turned around. This time her hands were behind her back as she walked. The slight similarity to Long Feng made you shiver as you tried to shake off the imagery. Ty Lee was nothing like the man who had held you prisoner for years.

As you turned around a corner you couldn't help but rub your eyes. Light leaked in through a door on your left. It slipped in from underneath as well as through some slots in the door, though what purpose they served was a mystery. It was so bright.

For a split second you held out your hand through one of the sunbeams, wiggling your fingers about. The sliver of sunlight was so warm. It was almost like holding your hand above a candle. Only there was no flame to worry about.

Then Ty Lee opened the door and your wonder stopped. Mainly because when you tried to see outside, you couldn't. All you saw was white. A white that hurt your eyes. Your hands were the second thing over your eyes as you lost your balance and leaned against the wall. Even with them closed somehow all you could see was a bright light from within. Like the pain had somehow overcome the darkness that your eyelids and hands should have provided.

"What happened?" A new voice asked.

It wasn't exactly harsh but it hadn't beans kind as Ty Lee. Another thing that set it apart was the fact that it had definitely been male. You staggered against the wall, cowering as it were, to try and make sure that you weren't in their way. You pressed yourself so tightly against the metal wall that it was a wonder you didn't become a part of it.

"I don't know. One minute everything was fine and then I opened the door."

"Why are you covering your eyes?" He asked directly.

"They hurt," you answered in a whisper.

Your head felt like it was going to explode from all of the instantaneous pressures inside. The light had triggered a near instant headache. That was on top of the pain that it caused. You hadn't seen the sun in over six years; you were unused to it at this point.

"From what?" The man asked again, this time with an almost defensive tone.

"Ooooh I get it now!" Ty Lee exclaimed, causing your head to ring with pain. "You haven't been outside or seen the sun since you were captured in Ba Sing Se right? It's no wonder they hurt. You must not be used to seeing in the light anymore."

She wasn't nearly as clueless as she pretended to be. You folded into yourself by instinct as you felt their continued staring. It must have been a pitiful sight for them. You were a fire nation citizen who couldn't stand to be in the light. Not only that but you'd been a prisoner since you were a child. You were nothing like the proud princess Azula or even the energetic Ty Lee. You were a broken doll.

"You should take her back to her room Zuko. She's in the one with Mei and I."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well I was going to make sure that Azula doesn't get too cranky. All these soldiers don't deserve her putting them through surprise drills because she is bored."

You heard a snort of derision from the man identified as Zuko. Then you heard Ty Lee bound off. She was nearly soundless in how she shifted her weight. It was just that with the headache you felt, everything sounded much louder than it was. You tried to open your eyes to see when you heard that the door had been closed, presumably for your comfort. The pounding in your head did lessen when it was shut but the sensory headache did not go away. As you tried to open your eyes, you realized the damage was already done. You couldn't see anything. The moment you tried to open your eyes pain raced through your head. You clenched your jaw tightly as you tried not to make a sound; only Zuko would know how successful you were at that.

Still you tried again as you took a step. The result was practically the same only you started to stumble off balance as well. You hadn't seen anyone, much less been, so drunk the staggered but that was how you appeared. Regardlessly you flinched and went completely still when you felt a hand helping to steady you. Based on the fact that you were pretty sure that no one else had snuck up on you, you reasoned that it had to be Zuko.

"The hallways aren't big enough for me to help you walk," Zuko admitted to a quiet voice.

He was right. The one you were in now was but this was just a small cabin that lead outside. The majority of the inner workings of the ship had been built with narrow hallways. Four feet wide but that was it. It was large enough for a broad shouldered man to fit through comfortably but not two people if someone else needed to pass.

Instead of furthering the conversation by telling you that you were on your own as Ty Lee had left, he did something that you hadn't expected. Your feet were pulled up into the air as was the rest of your body. Zuko had picked you up, supporting you by the knees and shoulders. For one breathless moment you felt like he was going to throw you into the wall for being so pathetic. But he didn't. Instead all he did was shift you so that your shoulder and side was against him.

"Put your arm around me," he said in a low tone.

You slipped the arm that had been pinned to your side around his shoulder and neck cautiously. It made you feel more stable and it was probably comfortable for him as well since there wasn't a shoulder pressed into his chest now.

"Why were you a prisoner? What's so dangerous about you?"

You started to open your eyes but the attempt hurt. You pushed through it yet the world stayed a little fuzzy. You felt your breathing pick up even as you tried not to panic. You couldn't see clearly and even what you could see caused you discomfort.

"My father was a captain in the fire nation army. He was killed in the attack in Ba Sing Se. My mother and I were taken by the Dai Li and forced to heal them whenever they got hurt."

You didn't need all your eyesight to realize that he looked surprised. "You don't look old enough to be a doctor."

"I'm not. Mother and I are…" you stopped yourself.

Was would have been a better term for you mom given that she was no longer alive. The issue with that was the fact that you still were alive and it wasn't like you could stop being a waterbender. It was just something you were born with.

"I am a waterbender, I just only know how to heal."

"What about your mother? Where is she?"

He had stopped walking. You realized that he was standing in front of a wall. It took a moment to understand that it was probably because you and he were at your room.

"Dead. Long Feng killed her and my sister."

That was exactly how you felt. If he had let you have access to water you could have saved them. You mom didn't have to bleed out. And whatever it was that took your sister, you were sure you could have stopped if you had the time and resources. Long Feng deprived you of both by not allowing you access to a basic necessity of life.

Zuko didn't say anything as he bent down so that you didn't fall when he started to move his arm to set you down. Once you were on your feet he moved away a respectable distance. It was only then that you saw that he had his own scar to bear. No doubt that came with his own tail of woe. Not that you knew it of course. You had been a prisoner for six years and a sheltered child prior to that.

"He will answer for his crimes."

"He already has," you replied much more calmly that you felt. Inside you tossed and turned over the fact that you had been the one to end him. That you had actually done what you had dreamed of doing. More importantly why.

"What? How?"

"I killed him before we left."

The leaving part was a bit fuzzy. The look on that bastard's face when he realized that he had been betrayed and that he was going to die would stay with you. A large part of you was glad about that. It had felt like justice. But it would stop you from missing your mother or the sister that never had a chance to grow up.

Zuko stood much more rigid than he had a moment ago as he stared at you. Not that you could really tell. It was still too hard to see the fine things. After not seeing the sun for six years, suddenly being exposed to it had definitely damaged your eyes. Normally that wouldn't be too big of an issue seeing as you would be able to heal yourself if you had access to water. Right now all you could think about was the fact that you had probably used up all the water in the room just a few minutes ago when you woke up.

"Do you know where I can get some water?" You asked quietly. "I hurt my eyes trying to go out into it after not seeing any sunlight for years."

"Explains why you're so pale," he expressed. "There should be some in the galley. I can show you where that is."

You were thankful that he didn't try to pick you up again. You didn't exactly favor being carried around. There hadn't been very many positive times in recent years centered around being carried. Granted, every time it became a necessity you hadn't been treated as gently - they usually just tree you over someone's shoulder. It wasn't that hard of a task considering that you had been underfed for the majority of the years you'd been held captive.

Silently you followed behind Zuko as he lead you down another hall and then another. You heard the galley before either you or he got there. From what you could gather a few of the sailors were in there. Probably on their off time. Trepidation filled you as you realized that Zuko didn't seem to be going in first. He was purposely lingering next to the door. Which meant you needed to go and get it yourself. You hadn't done something that simple in years.

"What are you waiting for?" Zuko prompted in a demanding tone.

You squeezed your eyes closed and took a deep breath. You could do this. You were free. You weren't a prisoner of the Dai Li anymore. You were free. You were the daughter of a brave captain who fought to unite the world. You were free. And according to Princess Azula you were the new Avatar. Getting water from a ship's galley master shouldn't have been an issue. Unfortunately you didn't feel like any of this wondrous things despite them all being true. Which made even something like this a big deal. You opened your eyes, as blurry as it was, and stepped into the room. If you didn't get the water for yourself then you weren't going to get your full eyesight back.

Once you stepped in you realized that your earlier assumption was true. There were a few people in the room at the steel tables. All of them men from what you could see. And the fact that they stopped talking to stare at you made you uncomfortable. You closed the door politely behind you as you tried to ignore their eyes. No doubt they were just curious considering the fact that they had never seen you before.

"Um, where can I find some fresh water?"

The sound of your voice was pathetic. It was barely above a whisper. Try as you might it didn't feel like you could raise your voice. You hadn't spoken very loudly in years.

"Over here, I'll give you some water," one of the few sailors in there said.

Odd thing was that you saw one of the others push slightly on his shoulder. Almost like they were playing around.

"That I can take back to my room?" You pressed for more information.

Though it was hard to see the soldier grinned. He grabbed your hand when you got close enough and pulled you until you were sitting on one of his knees. This definitely didn't feel right. Like he was caging you in. Judging by the way that his companions were moving their heads they were probably exchanging looks.

"Hot stuff in a moment we will all go back to your room."

...what?

You stared up at him in confusion as your heart sped up. "What?"

You felt his hand on your thigh, completely bypassing the robe you wore. His fingers were hard and warm. Not to mention unwelcome. Instantly you knew that you didn't want to stay around there anymore.

"Did the captain send you to us? A reward before we dock? Cause I gotta say, that would make up for a lot of the shit we have had to put up with while standing on ceremony," one of the other men at the table spoke up.

"I'm only here for water," you tried to explain.

"We can find you later. The ship is big but I'm sure we can find a pretty little thing like you wherever you go."

"Don't touch me," you responded instead as the first sailor slid his hand up higher.

"Hey if you don't play nice we will have to detain you because maybe you're a stoy away. Maybe you aren't. It'll be hard to tell unless you can convince us."

You didn't understand exactly what he meant. You did understand that he wasn't saying exactly what he meant. You also understood that he was threatening you.

As you went to grab his hand the two other sailors stood up abruptly. The way that their armor hit the metal table as the stood up so quickly made you flinch. It also caught the attention of the rude man beneath you. Suddenly you were cast off of the man's lap and ended up losing your balance as the man practically threw you in his haste to get up.

"Prince Zuko!" They all greeted in unison.

Prince? He was a prince? Ty Lee had acted so casually when she saw him that you had no idea. Though the lack of armor like the crew should have filled you in...somehow that hadn't been something you realized.

"Is there a problem here?"

He did not sound happy. You hadn't known him for more than ten minutes but you could tell that much. All three sailors noticed the tone too.

"No problem your highness."

"Then why doesn't she have some water?"

Though you couldn't see their eyes move between one another, you definitely heard them shift uneasily.

"She didn't say she wanted any water. She just came here dressed like that sire."

Zuko turned his attention to you as you stood up. "You didn't tell them you wanted water?"

"I did, he said he had some."

Zuko crossed his arms. "Then why didn't they get you any?"

You tried to figure out how to briefly put the confusing events in order to tell him. "They said that they were going to go back to my room after I said I wanted to take water back there. That they would find me later. And that if I didn't play nice they would detain me until I convinced them I wasn't a stow away."

Whatever you said did not seem to please Zuko. In fact he seemed almost personally offended over something. You shrunk back into yourself as you felt his ire even if you could see it clearly.

"You," Zuko said in a tight tone as he pointed his eyes at one of the three men, "get a small bucket of water and carry it back to my room."

"Yes sire," the sailor said before he moved to do as he bid.

"The next time anyone thinks of threatening her, don't. You won't like the consequences."
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A Kindred Spirit